A
year after getting a major raise and a boatload of restricted stock,
Kevin Kennedy has decided to call it quits as chief executive at JDS
Uniphase to accept another job. He'll serve until Dec. 31, then remain
on the company's board as vice chairman.
He delivered his
decision to the company a week ago Friday, about nine days after the
vesting of the first half of a restricted stock grant covering 200,000
shares that were awarded under a new employment agreement signed a year
ago. It also included a 39 percent raise in his salary, from $575,000
to $800,000 a year.
Kennedy was also given 175,000 "deferred
stock units" that were fully vested when they were granted last year.
They are to be delivered to him when his employment ends "for any
reason," or if the company is bought, or two years from their grant
date, whichever happens first.
The agreement also called for
Kennedy to be awarded a "minimum" of 375,000 restricted stock units "no
later than the last business day of the first fiscal quarter" of the
company's 2009 fiscal year. They were granted Aug. 29.
The
increased compensation was offered in recognition of "the substantial
results of Mr. Kennedy's leadership in effectuating the company's
turnaround and positioning of the company for future long-term
success," according to the proxy released earlier this month by JDS in
advance of its next shareholder meeting Nov. 12.
JDS disclosed the news of Kennedy's impending
departure Wednesday, when it
released results for its fiscal 2009 first quarter showing a wider
first-quarter loss as sales in its testing unit declined. It also said
sales in its current quarter would come in between $360 million and
$390 million, below the $419.3 million analysts in a Bloomberg survey
were expecting.
Shares of JDS Uniphase stock dropped 8.5
percent the next day, to $5.49. Since Kennedy became CEO in September
2003, JDS shares have lost 80 percent of their value.
JDS
Uniphase will be asking shareholders next month to approve an increase
in the number of shares in its equity incentive plan by 12 million, or
40 percent.
Good luck.
Non-sellers'
remorse?: Asyst Technologies pulled the plug last week on discussions
with Aquest Systems, which offered in July to buy it for $6.50 a share.
Aquest
is run by Mihir Parikh, an Asyst founder and a former chief executive
who in 2003 alleged wrongful termination against Asyst and
discrimination "based on age, race and national origin," as well as
fraud, deceit, and defamation. He sought damages of more than $5
million but settled the matter later that year for $1.3 million.
Wednesday,
Asyst said that as "a result of the current economic environment and
recent decline in the market value of the company," it would be taking
a non-cash goodwill impairment of about $85 million to $90 million for
the quarter."
The charge will reduce its shareholders' equity, which could lead to the violation of a covenant with its lenders.
Shares
of Asyst, which nearly hit $5 when Aquest made its offer, have been
steadily declining since, closing Friday at cents, down percent.
Contact Jack Davis at jdavis@mercurynews.com or (408) 271-3788.